DARK FORCES RILE DJOKOVIC

NOVAK DJOKOVIC accused Wimbledon chiefs of leaving him and Adrian Mannarino in the dark.

Djokovic overcame Frenchman Mannarino 6-2 7-6 6-4 yesterday to reach the quarter-finals a day after they were originally due on court.

They were scheduled to meet on Court No.1 on Manic Monday but with Rafa Nadal’s near fivehour epic against Gilles Muller not finishing until 8.35pm, Djokovic was delayed.

Wimbledon chiefs also refused to move his Mannarino match on to an empty Centre Court due to safety reasons.

Having cleared the main court after the final match between Grigor Dimitrov and Roger Federer, they did not want a stampede of fans coming back for a bonus match. Djokovic (below and left receiving treatment) said: “I was not happy not to play last night. We were kept for two and a half hours in the dark, in a way, without knowing what we are going to do.

“Centre Court has the roof and lights, we could have played till 11pm. Security reasons was the only excuse.”

Djokovic faces Tomas Berdych today.